Camille Henry
Camille Joseph Wilfred Henry (January 31, 1933 - September 11, 1997) was a professional left winger. Born in Quebec City, Henry, nicknamed 'The Eel', had his greatest success wearing number 21 for the New York Rangers where he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as National Hockey League rookie of the year in 1954 (beating out Jean Beliveau). Camille was the second team NHL all star left winger in 1958, the year he also won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship combined with production. In 1964/65 he was team Captain. At 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) and 150 lb (68 kg), he was generally regarded as the smallest man in the NHL at the time and suffered numerous injuries throughout his career. He was known for his ability to swat the puck out of mid air to score goals. He did a few stints in the minor leagues including the Providence Reds in 1955/56 when they won the American Hockey League Championship - the Calder Cup. (Like Gump Worsley the year before (1953), he was named rookie of the year then was sent by the New York Rangers to the minor leagues for a year - probably to lessen his value and keep his compensation low). He played for the Chicago Black Hawks and the St. Louis Blues later in his career and he coached the Kansas City Blues of the Central Hockey League in 1969/70 and then coached the New York Raiders of the World Hockey Association but he never duplicated his early success. After his retirement he lived in Quebec City and held down security jobs eventually becoming essentially destitute. He was widely considered to have an alcohol consumption problem which was complicated by diabetes. He died shortly after receiving his first reimbursement for the players' pension fund which was awarded by the courts. On November 1, 1959, that fateful night when Jacques Plante first donned a mask, Camille was the first and the only one in that game to score on him. Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1953–54 New York Rangers NHL 66 24 15 39 10 -- -- -- -- -- 1954–55 New York Rangers NHL 21 5 2 7 4 -- -- -- -- -- 1956–57 New York Rangers NHL 36 14 15 29 2 5 2 3 5 0 1957–58 New York Rangers NHL 70 32 24 56 2 6 1 4 5 5 1958–59 New York Rangers NHL 70 23 35 58 2 -- -- -- -- -- 1959–60 New York Rangers NHL 49 12 15 27 6 -- -- -- -- -- 1960–61 New York Rangers NHL 53 28 25 53 8 -- -- -- -- -- 1961–62 New York Rangers NHL 60 23 15 38 8 5 0 0 0 0 1962–63 New York Rangers NHL 60 37 23 60 8 -- -- -- -- -- 1963–64 New York Rangers NHL 68 29 26 55 8 -- -- -- -- -- 1964–65 New York Rangers NHL 48 21 15 36 20 -- -- -- -- -- 1964–65 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 22 5 3 8 2 14 1 0 1 2 1967–68 New York Rangers NHL 36 8 12 20 0 6 0 0 0 0 1968–69 St. Louis Blues NHL 64 17 22 39 8 11 2 5 7 0 1969–70 St. Louis Blues NHL 4 1 2 3 0 -- -- -- -- -- 15 seasons NHL totals 727 279 249 528 88 47 6 12 18 7 References * Category:Born in 1933 Category:Dead in 1997 Category:Canadian ice hockey players Category:Chicago Blackhawks players Category:Calder Trophy winners Category:Lady Byng winners Category:New York Rangers players Category:NHL All-Stars Category:Quebec Citadelles players Category:Quebec Aces players Category:Montreal Royals players Category:Providence Reds players Category:Buffalo Bisons players Category:Kansas City Blues players Category:Retired in 1970 Category:Kansas City Blues coaches